A young woman in North Carolina suffered life-altering injuries in an incident where police say she was doused with gasoline and set on fire.
Police in Sanford arrested 23-year-old Jami Raiziah Griffin on December 27, over a week after he allegedly set 20-year-old Ashanti Downey on fire. Authorities report that the two were living together at the time of the December 16 incident.
Authorities say Downey was walking near Barbecue Church Road in Sanford to go to a local Dollar General store when she was approached from behind, doused with gasoline and set ablaze. She sustained third-degree burns on the right side of her body and was rushed to the emergency room. The Harnett County Sheriff’s Office has charged Griffin with attempted first-degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill and assault on a female, according to the Raleigh News and Observer.
Downey’s mother, Donecia Davis, expressed her disbelief and heartbreak over what happened to her daughter. “How could they do this to my baby?” Davis shared with WRAL-TV. “You didn’t have to do this to her.”
In a message shared on a GoFundMe campaign to support Downey’s medical expenses, Davis revealed that her daughter’s 21st birthday was on January 1. “Her life will be forever changed,” Davis wrote. “No parent should have to see their child in the condition my daughter is in. I am making her my top priority and have been by her side at the hospital since this incident occurred,”
The fundraiser has garnered an outpouring of support, raising over $105,000 from more than 2,000 donors as of January 3.
Before Griffin’s arrest, Harnett County Sheriff Wayne Coats described the situation as a “nightmare for this family.” Speaking to reporters, he said the case might have domestic roots but also mentioned the possibility of gang involvement, noting, “It could have been a gang initiation. We’re mystified by what’s happened.”
Griffin is currently being held at the Harnett County Detention Center on a $1 million bond. Downey remains in critical but stable condition as her family and community rally around her during this harrowing time.
